Unpacking (2021)

I was expecting something like ‘A little to the left’ but this was so much better. Getting to know the woman that we’re unpacking for is really really interesting and I think the story is so palpable even though we are just seeing it through items. The sprite art is so gorgeous and it’s so satisfying that you can figure out what you’re looking at even though it’s nearly only representational. Like a blue ray case, versus a wii case, or a gamecube one. It’s so cute and even emotional when you think about what stage you are at in your life. I’m moving out of college soon and it’s scary and this kind of makes it feel like it’ll be okay eventually.

What made this start feeling really really interesting is when you have to move in with a partner that makes no space for you to the point where you have to hide your own passions under the bed. It’s crazy well done.

If I had paid full price for it though, I would have not liked it as much bc I’ve heard it’s 20 dollars for a game that gives you one day of game play.

I initially bought Unpacking after realising A Little to the Left wasn't the cozy/relaxing game I was expecting it to be, and I couldn't be more surprised! I had a great time being part of the main character's life as the plot progressed and felt connected to her in some ways. All the little details the game gives you just shows how carefully constructed the plot was.

Despite being way too short and sometimes a bit tedious when moving objects around (specially smaller ones) when the apartments gets bigger and bigger, I really enjoyed it this (truly) cozy and relaxing ride. The ending was the cherry on top, a beautiful way to finish such an emotional story. Loved it!

Kind of a tough one. I feel like the concept here is really well thought out, providing a feeling of zen and satisfaction that I rarely find in any video game at all. Something that is especially nice for someone like me who can easily hyper focus on something that seems pointless to everyone else. The art is really well done, the music is relaxing and at times surprisingly groovy, and the general story presented is pretty enjoyable.

The game does end up getting a little tedious at the end though. I feel like some of the control scheme could have been expanded upon, since at some point it gets tiring to slowly navigate through rooms or correct a mistakenly placed object. On that note, I really dislike how the game has "correct" positions for a lot of items which often is not very clear to the player. There were a few items I couldn't identify at all, and having to re-organize certain sections just to fit something I thought could go elsewhere was kind of demotivating. The one time this was a positive was when an old picture of the character's ex-boyfriend couldn't be put on a bulletin board showcasing the conflicting emotions people can have post-breakup, but this is the only time this was done in a way that was apparent.

I also really would have loved if the concept of exploring a human's life through the process of moves was fleshed out more. Specifically I feel like it ended up becoming the most enjoyable part of the game for me, once the gameplay's novelty had stopped hitting, and yet I feel like it's not really explored much. I think a game like this could have easily had a much more intimate story/experience towards the characters it presented. Of course this is a personal opinion and it is very possible that the dev team didn't want to do that.

Lastly, I think it is hard not to talk about the size of the game in a review. While you can spend as long as you want re-organizing, the overall content is pretty short, something that feels weird to say considering how tedious parts of it started getting near the end. But for a game that is sold at $20, I think it would have been nice to have more to it.

Regardless, I had a good time with this, and it was a much needed relaxation experience.

I had already reviewed Unpacking way back when I first joined the website but I hadn't expanded upon it too much - this changes now.

I recently replayed Unpacking: it's a chill and cozy pixel game about unpacking most of your life, stage by stage, situation by situation. It doesn't have any more mechanics than click, drag, rotate and position. You can interact with most of the furniture to open it and the general look and feel of it feels good.

However, I can't feel too good without pointing out that the protagonist lugs around so much unneeded stuff under the guise of "personality", which makes fitting her rather large presence in most places she goes to extremely hard, almost annoying for whoever she lives with it - almost. I wonder, at this point, if I'm supposed to feel like it because I felt as if some items were just to make a point that she simply cannot re-dimension herself to fit in another's person's living space but only finds her peace when she has an entire apartment to shovel her purchases in - which happens only at the end.

The protagonist, after the first few years of her life, takes a penchant for lugging around a variety of weird things: two toasters, an ever increasing amount of spices that could be bought anywhere, a host of plushies that most often can be scarcely accommodated within the confines of any 'shared living' she has (and it increases!)and a cookie jar.

While most of the living arrangements should feel "light" and "pleasant", there's an exception: the ex-boyfriend's house. It's meant to feel tight and as if she doesn't fit but, truth be told, she barely fits in most places until she gets an apartment of her own so the 'gravity' of the message feels lost as you're struggling to find place for her five boxes of stuff in an apartment that seems tight even for the ex-boyfriend himself.

It does not help that the game forces certain objects to be in certain rooms (such as the diploma being forcibly shoved - by the game, mind me - under the bed in the boyfriend's section) and you find yourself staring at the life of someone who just simply doesn't want to adapt until she doesn't have to.

At the end of the game, you just feel as if the wife takes much less space than her.

The price tag, for most of these 3 to 4 hours 'unique' experiences, is a bit too much (€19.99) to justify a purchase: it was on GamePass and it was then gifted to me on Steam. Wait for a sale if you're interested.

Ca faisait plusieurs mois qu'il me faisait de l'œil ce jeu. Mais j'avais peur d'être confrontée à une difficulté conséquente et les puzzles dans l'espace sont loin d'être mes préférés car j'ai de gros soucis de préhension/projection.

Bref, malade comme un chien, en alerte orange canicule, j'ai décidé d'enfin dépenser de l'argent dans ce jeu. Le premier mot qui me vient à l'esprit est "cosy". La musique est reposante, les couleurs sont douces, il n'y a pas de timer. On peut prendre le temps surtout que le jeu propose une expérience plutôt courte.

L'expérience c'est de voyager à travers le temps, de lieu de vie en lieu de vie, et de déballer ses affaires à chaque fois. Nos possessions évoluant entre chaque niveau, certains items nous suivant de déménagement en déménagement, d'autres s'ajoutant au fur et à mesure que le temps passe. Et comme dans tous déménagement, des affaires se retrouvent dans les mauvais cartons.

La résolution des différents niveau est relativement souple et l'on peut aboutir à plusieurs solutions différentes voir même avoir parfois une petite marge "déco". A la fin votre appartement sera donc quelque peu unique !

Sans dialogue, le jeu arrive à nous raconter la vie de sa protagoniste, ses études, ses aspirations, ses réussites, son état d'esprit. Et je trouve ça génial. Je suis ravie d'avoir accordé trois-quatre heures à ce petit jeu tout mignon.

Game play is not intensive: click on a box, drag the object where you want it, repeat. Once you have unpacked all the items in the room you will move to the next until everything is placed. Over the course of 21 years in-game you will be able to unpack in 8 different chapters. Each new room you will see new items that character has acquired, face limitations of space when rooming with others, and may leave objects behind.

The combination of pixelated graphics and lo-fi soundtrack give the game a peaceful nostalgic vibe. Game cases, movies and books are distorted enough that you get some small satisfaction once you finally pick up on the references. Many items have unique placement sounds too (ASMR Vibes) - the chime of ceramics or the soft dunk of a shampoo bottle make the sound design standout.

The story has really interesting beats - if you’re paying attention (spoiler: I wasn’t at first). Looking for something low impact to get started on? Try this and unpack some tissues.

I really enjoyed this. My only criticism would be I wish that there was a way to get text descriptions of items because it wasn’t always immediately obvious what things were. It took me a while to figure out the funny kitchen tool was, I think, a jar opener. Most of the rolled-up small things were posters but in the final kitchen, there was a black rolled up thing and I didn’t know what it was. It needed to be in a cabinet though. Maybe a roll of trash bags?

I would love a sequel with even more content, and maybe let us change up the paint, wallpaper, curtains, and furniture.

• Year played: 2021/2022
• Playtime: 5-10 hours
• Completion level: 100% (all stickers)

I went into this game blind, having picked it up right after release and jumping in without reading any reviews. I was honestly expecting a puzzle game of trying to "tetris" arrange things in drawers until they fit just right, which would have been perfectly enjoyable on its own (or maybe I'm weird - but I actually love unpacking in a new place so this sounded like a relaxing time to me).

But this is more than just a game of sorting and organizing things where they belong. It's a story of a life told through snapshots of moments when one chapter is ending and another begins. Some of the moves have an optimistic and exciting air to them, others feel temporary and unsure, and some frustrating and feeling like a setback. It made me think of all the places I've lived over the years, how the place I called "home" played a part in who I was at that time, and how each move marked a new era on the timeline of my life.

It's slightly more than a snapshot of a particular life though - it's a timely game that targets a very specific group of a generation which happens to be my own. When unpacking the game's first room, a childhood bedroom in the 90's, you'll recognize (or not recognize, depending on your age!) things like tamagotchis and gameboys. I've seen articles saying that many younger players couldn't figure out where to put the gamecube since they didn't know what it was. Depending on when you grew up, the game may resonate more or less with your own life and experiences - so I think it'll hit everyone a little bit differently. For me, it was uncanny how closely the main character's life mirrored my own in so many ways, and especially the early levels felt like a love letter to my childhood.

I'd love to play another version of this game where I don't share as many similarities with the main character, to see what I could learn and understand about someone with a life very different from my own, just from the things they carry with them. If the developer released a sequel or additional storylines, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

Overall, this is a unique game that strikes a beautiful balance between a relaxing and enjoyable core gameplay loop, a sweet and nostalgic story, and moments of surprise and delight when you see how some objects interact or change as the years pass. Definitely a 'recommend' from me, and a well-earned spot on my list of favorite games.

Lana: amazing game!!! i love decorating rooms, so if that's your thing this game is right up your alley. The only downside is that it is too short!! 8/10

Rodrigo: very fun decoration game BUT THAT BITCH IS FUCKING SPOILED GETTING TO MOVE A MILLION TIMES!!!!! THIS IS NOT REALISTIC AT ALL WITH THE CURRENT HOUSING PROBLEM IN ALL OF EUROPE. NO STUDENT OR WORKING YOUNG ADULT IS CAPABLE OF AFFORDING A HOUSE ANYWHERE WITHOUT A RICH MOMMY OR DADDY. EAT THE RICH. still tho very cute to decorate rooms ngl even though i felt like theres not enough room for all the stuff. 7/10

P.S. check out our awesome kawaii bedroom

Unpacking is a cute and simple story/puzzle game with no spoken narrative, it was awesome having to pick up on main characters story only through there belongings only.

While it is a puzzle game it's not to difficult, there was only one puzzle that stumped me for a bit, but everything else was pretty clear. Your basically playing animal crossing: happy home designer for the most part.

The joy comes from watching some ones life unfold and speculating what's happening through there belongings. It sometimes gets clever, like one that I liked was when the main character clearly got hurt at some point, you can tell because they randomly got a cane along with back hot pads and a water pouch w/ a cozy. There's other clever stuff but I won't say more since it's a short game and I wouldn't wanna ruin it.

It's stuff like that, that kept me playing. Seeing her story only through the items in the game; sadly it's just to short.

Great game to pick up probably a 3-4 hour playtime and the only other thing that bothered me was the repetative background music it seems they only have one track on repeat. Other than that it's a great game, I recommend as long as you don't mind the short playtime and the simple gameplay.

So much potential but it just falls short in my opinion. It's too short and not much happens. I was expecting a more interesting story but it was very basic. Such an amazing story could be told through this but I think they wasted the idea. I was gonna go back and get all the stickers but now I don't think I will.

Some details were nice, like the rainbow colored socks that suddenly appeared, or when you had to hide the photo with her boyfriend after they clearly broke up in order to continue. This game needed more of that. I guess I would have cared more the game if I got chances to get attached to the characters. It's just a shame I think, because the concept is amazing.

Unpacking is the newest game from Assault Android Cactus developer Witch Beam and it is quite the departure for the studio. Described as a "zen puzzler", the game has you moving into various rooms over the course of the protagonist's life where you must assort and rearrange your belongings out of cardboard boxes.

The soothing music, quality pixel art, and relaxing gameplay all really work in concert here to make a great experience. You will be given various household items that one might carry during a move and your task is to correctly organize them where they logically make sense to belong in a room. Upon unpacking all items, the game will highlight any "incorrect" placings. While this option can be disabled if you just want a completely freeform experience I would recommend against that. It may be a frustrating gameplay conceit to know what an item is and have it be labeled as "incorrect" but the game uses this to its advantage to register some of its most impactful storytelling moments. Although the pixel art is certainly high quality, there were a handful of times where I struggled to figure out what exactly an item was at first.

Unpacking certainly doesn't overstay its welcome as it took me about 3 hours to get 100% of the achievements. While I really enjoy the game, the 20 dollar asking price for such a short experience may turn off some, however, the game is available on Xbox Game Pass for Cloud, Console, and PC making it a much easier recommendation if you have that service.

I had a surprising amount of fun with the gameplay in Unpacking but there's so much more to it under the surface. Despite the extremely simple premise, there is a growing element of challenge in the gameplay and, without spoiling too much, there is definitely a lot being said in terms of storytelling here. It is intensely personal and voyeuristic to view a person's life through the possessions they have and value. The game does a fantastic job of telling stories with no words or with simple addition, subtraction, or repetition of certain elements. I bounced off the demo during the Steam Next Fest, but I'm really glad I gave it a second look.

Playthrough stats: 100% completion - 2 hr. 54 min. 57 sec.

Score: 8/10 (Great)